At the World Bank’s series of forums on performance management, I found John Whitehead’s insights particularly interesting. Whitehead is a former secretary of the Treasury in New Zealand, which has been touted as the most advanced in performance-oriented government reform. He looked back on what worked and what did not in their reform efforts over the past 25 years. New Zealand’s efforts centering around four key elements:

Create an investment statement of the government – not just financial statements but performance statements, including how agencies plan to manage risk across their portfolios. Create a “results to citizens” report.

Create a better public services initiative – improve government interactions with citizens and businesses (e.g.., a single business-facing agency, single natural resources agency)

Encourage more cross-agency sharing of support services via the central agencies

Move to 4-year budget plans with incentives to collaborate across agencies; consolidate appropriations.

John M. Kamensky is a Senior Research Fellow for the IBM Center for the Business of Government. He previously served as deputy director of Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government, a special assistant at the Office of Management and Budget, and as an assistant director at the Government Accountability Office. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and received a Masters in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

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